Gaia's Grasp
by Willington
Summary: A young man is attacked by an unknown assailant, and when he awakens from the attack he is unsure where he is, who he is, and why he feels alone. But by travelling with a group of rebels, he may just find who, and what, he's searching for.  NOW RENAMED!
1. Fade To Black

Well. This is it. My first fan fic...

Just because this is the first chapter, I have five quick things to say:

1. This is not a self-insert. Just want to clear that up. The two OCs are based on my friends in terms of names and appearances, but that's it.

2. I DO NOT OWN FINAL FANTASY VII. Square Enix does, and I am borrowing the characters and settings of FFVII for a story written for my own enjoyment, not for profit. It's a sad but true fact that I do not own FFVII, but it's as simple as that.

3. You don't have to read and review, but if you decide to use your time to read and review, please be nice, and use your review to be constructive. Give me advice, and by all means be cruel to be kind, but no flames for the sake of flaming the fan fiction newbie. M'kay?

4. The chapter titles are based on song names, and while they are awesome songs that I shall be using the names from, you don't have to listen to them as you read.

5. Every so often I'm going to put in short author notes into the story, but hopefully they should be rare enough. If you have questions, leave them in a review if you feel like writing one, or send me a message or something.

Without further ado, witness the destruction of the best videogame storyline ever by a talentless idiot...

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They Who Will Collapse the Masses

Chap. 1: Fade to Black

'_Life it seems, will fade away, drifting further every day, getting lost within myself, nothing matters, no-one else, I have lost the will to live, simply nothing more to give, there is nothing more for me, need the end to set me free..._

'_Things not what they used to be, missing one inside of me, deathly lost, this can't be real, cannot stand this hell I feel, emptiness is filling me, to the point of agony, growing darkness taking dawn, I was me, but now he's gone.._

'_No-one but me, can save myself, but it's too late, now I can't think, think why should I even try..._

'_Yesterday seems as though it never existed, Death greets me warm, now I will just say goodbye...'_

'Mr. Keenan!'Take those headphones out right now, or I will confiscate them!'

_Damn, _he thought to himself,_ it was just getting to the solo._

'Niall, dude, sit up, she's walking over!'

Everything was out of focus from him having his eyes closed while listening to the song. He blinked rapidly to clear his vision before Ms. Quigley came over. _This happens every time I try to listen to music in class, _he thought_. I should probably pay a bit more attention. Probably. _He quickly put away his headphones before the teacher could see them.

'Thanks for the heads up mate', Niall muttered to the dark haired boy on his right.

'No prob', whispered the young man in reply, grinning and hiding his own set of headphones. The two friends stifled their grins and looked up innocently at the teacher looming over them.

'Niall Keenan and Andrew Murphy, stop misbehaving!' she fumed, before turning faux-calm. 'Now, I know one of you doesn't care that your final State examination begins next week, and that the other doesn't need to study for it, but if you two are both so arrogant as to not pay attention could you at least not distract the other students with your music. Which I saw you hide on the way over because I'm not a total idiot. Now, would you both either pay attention or get out of the classroom, and let the serious students work!'

Both of the students looked at the teacher with identical wide-eyed looks, the corner of Niall's mouth twitching slightly as he imagined how Andrew would react. From the corner of his eye he could see a smug smile forming on his friend's face as he abruptly stood up, put all his books in his bag, and headed towards the door or the class. He towered over Ms. Quigley (and pretty much the entire class) as he walked by her, only stopping at the door to open it, dramatically pointing his nose in the air as he did so. As the classroom door shut the class could hear him sniggering at the shocked expression on Ms. Quigley's face. Clearly she hadn't expected him to actually leave the class, and was now struggling to decide on a course of action that would help her save face. She couldn't find one. She opened her mouth for a second, leaving her jaw hanging down before speaking.

'Emm... Eh... Carry on working students. Anymore interruptions and there will be severe punishments.'

Niall smirked to himself. _How has he not been expelled yet?_ He put his head down on the desk and watched the clock until the day's last class was over.

* * *

Niall looked around as he left the school, trying to spot Andrew. It didn't take him long to find him, his best friends height making him easy to find in the rush of students.

'Hey, wait up man!' he called over the chatter of the crowd.

Andrew turned around, spotting Niall quickly despite Niall's lack of height making him blend in with the crowd of homeward bound students. More or less everything about Niall made him inconspicuous in a crowd, from his middle-length, slightly untidy black hair, his slight 5' 8" frame, except for his tidy but extremely noticeable clothes, a pair of baggy dark-blue jeans and a combination of an orange long-sleeve t-shirt under an open, vivid sky-blue short-sleeve shirt, with gray and yellow sneakers. His only other odd feature was his eyes, a light shade of blue-grey. It often surprised people that Andrew and Niall were friends, due to their appearance being the near-opposite of each other. Andrew had brown eyes, pseudo-straight brown hair that was normally tied back in a lazy ponytail, along with a small stubble goatee around his mouth. His clothes were dark and untidy, and normally included a band t-shirt of some sort. He was most easily recognisable, however, not by his distinctive clothes, but his physical size. He easily towered over Niall by roughly 8 inches, at an even 6' 4" out of his black canvas sneakers, not to mention his massive hands and feet (he was a size 13 ½). He walked over to his friend, catching up easily due to his long legs.

'So, what's the plan for today?' Andrew asked his friend. 'Jam for a while in your garage, or play some Playstation? Personally, I'm happy with either option'

'I think your performance in English today deserves a treat. You don't have to be back at yours anytime soon, so why not do both?' Niall grinned. 'Her face after you walked out is the funniest thing that's happened since you handed in that conspiracy theory essay to her. I still can't believe you got an A for_ '__Steve Irwin Stumbled upon the fact that the Stingray species was behind 9/11 and was thus eliminated_'. Even the title was a load of shit! You must have used one hell of a vocabulary in that essay.'

'I did. My very best work, if I may say so myself.' Andrew deadpanned. 'Alright, let's mosey.'

* * *

They hung out in Niall's garage for a few hours practising for their future band (they had both agreed to start a metal band whenever they found two people that they could trust and who could play lead guitar or bass. They had once found one such person by the name of Rory, but he was talented at lead guitar to the point of moving country to make the big time; last they heard, he was being considered as Ozzy Osbourne's next guitarist, but that is a story for another day), with Andrew on drums and Niall playing rhythm guitar. They stopped upon deciding, as they always did, that it got boring after a while without more band members, and retreated to Niall's living room sofa with food and drinks, and began to play Final Fantasy VII.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck, Fuck, Fuck, FUCK, _FUCK_, _**FUCK**_,_**FUUUUCK**_!' Andrew began to swear. 'Fucking Materia Keeper! Why are you even here, you inconsiderate bastard mutant space flea from NOWHERE! Wait, what are you doing now... NO! STOP USING TRINE YOU EIGHT-LEGGED...FREAK!'

Niall looked up from tuning his acoustic guitar and sighed in desperation. His friend was, in all honesty, a genius, but was prone to being over-dramatic, had the all the poise and subtlety of hardcore porn, and had never seemed to completely grasp the concept Niall had doggedly tried to hammer into his head: 'the inanimate T.V. cannot hear you'. He had heard Andrew have considerable, completely one sided arguments while watching DVDs, but being reduced to a swearing wreck by a mid game boss was a new low. He set the guitar down and turned to his best friend.

'Drew, Calm down, and give me the controller' said Niall, with the patience of a saint.

'No! I'm not going to let him beat me!'

'The inanimate game does not care if it beats you. Now, Drew, calm down, and give me the controller!'

'...Fine' spat Andrew in a huffy tone.

Niall took the controller and began to play the game. In a matter of seconds, he had managed to bring the Materia Keeper to its knees using summons and Limit Breaks. As he did so, Andrew began to sulk more and more, embarrassed that Niall hadn't even struggled against the monster that had handed his ass to him. He kept up a steady mumbled stream of claims that he could have beaten the monster had Niall not interfered, but they both knew from past experience that he would have asked Niall for help eventually, and all Niall had done was speed up the process.

Three minutes later, Niall handed the controller back.

'Beat the monster, saved the game, and got some treasure you missed. Have you any questions kind sir?'

'Shup'. _(__Author note: 'Shup' is slang in my home town for 'Shut up', normally used in with the word 'there' [i.e. shup there]__)_

Niall chuckled at how surly being shown up made his friend. 'You shup'

'No'.

'Child' Niall smirked.

A grin tugged at the corners of Andrew's mouth. 'When did I say I wasn't a child?' he countered.

'Touché' Niall grinned, but then his smile faltered slightly. 'By the way mate, I was wondering... What exactly happened between you and Lisa? You never told me'

A couple of weeks earlier, Andrew had broken up with his girlfriend, whom he had been dating since he moved to the town. Lisa was probably the only person who knew Andrew as well as Niall or Andrew's sister Emma did.

A dark look passed over Andrew's face. '...I'd rather not go there man'.

'But why won't you tell me about it?'

'I have my reasons Niall'

'I wouldn't know. You won't tell me them.'

'Now who's the child?'

'Me.'

'Just, please drop it man. It's a sore subject.'

'Fine' Niall hesitated, and then spoke again. 'Are you ever going to tell me, or will you just keep being mysterious about it'

Andrew turned away from his best friend. 'Yeah, you'll find out some day' he said quietly, barely loud enough to hear.

'... Are you gay? Because it's sort of appearing that way.'

Andrew snorted in amusement. 'Hell no I'm not. I could never be gay. Men are even more insane than women.'

'Good, because, y'know, if you were, it might have been awkward for a while, while I adjusted to the news.

'Yeah, right. It would have been your wildest dreams come true!'

'You wish!' Niall chuckled. He looked up at the clock above them on the wall. It said 9:37. 'It's getting a bit late man, maybe you should head home?'

The smile that had been about to reappear on Andrews face faltered again. 'Yeah, wouldn't want to keep _him_ waiting.'

A few years previously, Andrew's parents had gone off on a holiday, and just never came back. After a few months, Emma was made to live in a foster home a couple of hundred miles away, while Andrew was put into a separate one, with a man called Matthew Moore. He treated Andrew like dirt, rarely even letting him contact Emma (he never told Andrew the contact number he was given for her foster family, and enjoyed the power that gave him) and Niall wasn't sure how much more Andrew could take of it. The only good things that came from him being made to move, and the only things that kept him sane, were his friendship with Niall, and his relationship with Lisa.

Andrew got up to leave. 'I'll see you mate' he said.

He walked to the door before he heard Niall. 'Wait up! I'll walk with you; just let me get my shoes on.'

A small smile crept onto Andrew's face. _What a friend. I wish everything wasn't going to end so badly..._ 'Thanks man.'

'No problem. Shall we go?'

Andrew picked up his schoolbag and walked out of the room. 'Yeah. C'mon'

* * *

It was about a mile and a half from Niall's house to Andrew's, and they had made it about half-way to Andrews before Andrew broke the silence.

'It's a bit creepy out here at night, what with the total desolation of the houses. You'd think people might paint buildings a colour other than grey, wouldn't you?'

'...what an odd thing to say, even for you.'

'Thanks, don't ment... Do you hear something?' Andrew said hesitantly.

Niall strained his ears to listen. 'It's probably a cat or a drug addict or some other creature of the night. Keep walking dude, it's getting pretty fucking cold out.'

Andrew looked at his friend disapprovingly. 'How many horror films have we seen where people have said things like that?' he asked Niall.

'Fair point, but that doesn't change the fact that we should keep moving.'

'...alright.' muttered Andrew. 'But if something happens to us and we die, then I am going to have to kill y-'

He never got a chance to finish his sentence, because at that moment something hard and metallic smashed into the back of his head. He crashed to the ground, unconscious before he even hit the dirt. Niall whirled around just in time to see a wild streak of scarlet flash across his vision, before something thin caught him hard in the chest. It hurt like a heated brand where it had hit him, but unlike Andrew, he didn't fall to the ground (due to it not hitting him in the head like it had Andrew), instead backpedalling into a wall. His vision was hazy from the pain, but he could just make out a silver rod swing towards his chest for a second time. However, this time it didn't rebound from the impact, instead staying in place where it had made contact. Niall's vision began to go black at the edges, and he heard his assailant speak for the first time.

'Yo, kids shouldn't walk around the streets at night.'

Then there was a click, and suddenly his world was an electric pain that seemed to go on forever, before unconsciousness' sweet embrace mercifully took him.

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So, what did you think? ...that bad? Sorry. Don't worry, Cloud and company will turn up soon.

For those who care, the chapter title is based on 'Fade To Black' by metallica, and the Story title is based on 'If I Could collapse the Masses' by Trivium.

By the way, I'm looking for a Beta if anyone is interested. Please get in touch if you are.

If you feel like reading and reviewing, please do. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of (hopefully) many. See you soon!


	2. Darkness Surrounding

Second chapter, written relatively quicker than I expected. Awesome. That said, it's a short, positively miniscule chapter this time, barely more than a drabble. Not that the last chapter was massive either. But I digress... Basically, I was going to have this with the next chapter as chapter two but I think this was more of a standalone chapter, so I put it as one. :D

Now, I don't like putting in monologues at the start of a chapter, but there are a few things I forgot to say last time:

1. This story is going to be very dark, and it will be bordering on mature territory by chapter eight at the latest. There will be a lot of gore at some points, and there will be so much swearing that it will make your head spin in parts, but that's to be expected in a story containing Cid and Barret. There may be some romance between characters, but I hope to avoid it unless it adds to my additions to the story and doesn't affect the original FFVII storyline. There will also be angst in some parts, and I have a major, major, MAJOR scene planned that practically drowns in it. Just warning you now. I may or may not change the rating of the story to mature later on, but it depends on how this pans out. Also, there will be death. Whether it's death of existing characters or my , I have not decided yet. You have been warned.

2. Speaking of , I think I might make one or two more, depending on how well received these ones are. They will not be main characters, but they may pop up sometimes. Or may not.

3. I hope to make this story around a hundred thousand words minimum, so just bear that in mind when you read it. I think I can write chapters with around 4,000 words, so there could be 25 or more chapters. And I absolutely plan on finishing it.

4. And lastly, a massive thanks to Chostani-san128 for leaving the first review. :D

Alright, let's get chapter two on the road!

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**They Who Woul****d Collapse the Masses**

Chapter II: Darkness Surrounding

Pain. It blinded Him. It was nearly unbearable, so painful it made Him numb to everything else. He couldn't open His eyes, for it set His nerves on fire. He couldn't breathe, for it set off an explosion of agony across His body. He couldn't think of anything else but the sharp, searing pain coursing across His mind, burning into His flesh, consuming His soul.

It went on for an eternity. Or maybe, it only went on for an instant. He wasn't sure, because the pain was so great it transcended everything, not paying any heed to time.

Eventually, He realised that if He could think, then the pain must be lessening. He tried to open his eyes, but all He could see was a pale green glow. Nevertheless, He focused on it, because it gave Him something to think about other than the pain.

Soon, He could tell that the pain was fading. It gradually became a dull ache, and then it disappeared completely. He tried to stand, and found He could. He looked around, but still, all He could see was pale green. He began to walk away from the glow, but it surrounded him. He didn't mind though, and He continued to walk.

Suddenly, the green light flashed, almost painfully bright, before fading entirely, leaving nothing but pure, crushing darkness surrounding Him. That was when He realised that He couldn't remember anything. How He got there. Who He was. Nothing.

Darkness. It was all He could see. It surrounded Him in every direction. It pushed in on Him, closed in around Him. Again, He could barely breathe. His head spun as He tried to escape the crushing darkness. He ran blindly, trying to escape the black obscuring His senses.

Why, He thought.

Why? Why? Why?

Why would this happen to me? What is happening to me?

Where am I?

Why can't I remember how I got here? ...Why can't I remember anything?

Why is it so dark?

Why am I the only one here?

Who brought me here?

Why? Just... Why?

He continued to run. He lost track of time, trying to escape, to find some light. He could have been running for days, weeks, months, never stopping for a second. If He had, He might have heard echoes; like somebody was playing a tape in reverse, with voices speaking backwards; but as it was, He was too focused on running to care.

Until he heard an oddly familiar voice speaking directly to Him.

'What's your rush Niall?'

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Well, there it is. The chapter that will, hopefully, be the shortest one of the story. In fact, it's shorter than my author notes. Sorry. Like I mentioned above, I intended on this being part of the previous chapter, but I wanted to update quickly, and I thought that would be a good place to end a chapter. I was probably wrong. Ah well...

So, if you feel like leaving a review, do please =] I'd like to know what people think of my , and the direction the story is taking. By the way, the chapter title is based on 'Darkness Surrounding' by Avenged Sevenfold. It was originally going to be called 'Pain', but I felt this suited it better, and also I love A7X, so I changed it. :)

I should update sometime in the next three weeks, so see you then folks!


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